Speed is not your fastest, but your slowest man. No back can run faster than his interference.

The quote reframes “speed” as a collective property. A team is only as fast as the slowest participant in the chain of execution, because plays require coordinated timing and mutual support. The second sentence makes the point concrete: a running back’s apparent quickness is limited by the blockers who must arrive first, sustain blocks, and create space. More broadly, it’s an argument against star-centered thinking. In any complex endeavor—sports, military units, workplaces—overall performance is governed by bottlenecks, coordination, and enabling roles that are less visible than the headline-maker.